Diary of a Gardener winter arrived for the weekend
This weekend was cold, working outside was possible, it was not freezing, but for a Floridian it was cold. It was a perfect time to stay inside and catch up on homework and busy work in my living room and be lazy. Lazy? Not sure if I would call myself lazy or what I did as lazy, but my body is not used to sitting down so much. Our house is old and has no heat so staying bundled up in front of the space heater was better than petering around the house. I worried about my plants this weekend. The temperature this morning went down to 39 for about 2 hours. That is cold for FL. I think they will be okay, the temperatures got back up to 63 by 3:00. Last Christmas when the polar vortex swept over half the country it stayed in the 40s for 3 days with nighttime temperatures in the upper 30s and the wind blew hard for 3 days. The plants were not happy. I lost several plants last winter. I was not happy either. So much work goes into my garden, to see weather come through so senselessly was heartbreaking. That is partly why I switched to more roses. They do not seem to mind chilly weather. They are not too fond of our extreme heat, but I deal with it.
I have learned when chilly weather is coming, to water the plants thoroughly, so the roots are hydrated and protect the plant better. I brought inside a handful of plants but gave the rest up to mother nature for her to take care. I just do not have it in me to move plants around anymore. After a few hurricanes and too many cold snaps last winter I just cannot schlep plants around anymore. It is survival of the fittest. If you [plant] cannot hack it, then you cannot stay. That is what I told myself this year. If you die this year from the weather, I am not replacing you. It will be a final break up with the plant.
It felt odd though not being outside doing what I love most for long hours all weekend. It also feels odd not to have a major project to work on in the garden. I must find things to prune and move around just to feel relevant in my garden now. The plants must be lonely without me, you think. Or they are relieved for once I have left them alone for a week. Crazy at it sounds, I do not know what I will work on this coming up week either.
This is where learning to enjoy the fruits of my labor will come in handy, won’t it? I can enjoy my garden without having to work so hard in it. I can enjoy it more by taking some snipers out to lightly prune and using my camera to find the beautiful bloom or perfect setting. Or watching how the sun shines on the perfect shot creating the most beautiful reminder, nature will always prevail, with or without us. My garden brings me so much joy, and physical pain working so hard. It is a constant work in progress much like me and all of us. We are never stagnant. At least I hope not. Stagnant means death and I have killed my fair share of plants. We are always growing, learning, changing, learning again, and leaning into the next new thing that grabs our attention. The most important thing for me is that I am always growing and learning. Lapping up information so fast I can barely shovel it in my brain. Latey, I have barely taken a break to watch my favorite shows. I love to learn, whether it is a creative writing course, my own class work for University of FL, an expert’s class in garden design or floral designs, iPhone photography, world renowned gardeners or the stack of gardening books I bought that I want to read this year. Learning means knowledge and knowledge is power.
For now, I am continuing to fine tune my garden. NO more major projects on the horizon. I have changed out a few pots, added some small border plants, and trimmed a few plants. My hope is that by early March everything will be filled back in with new growth, ready for spring, ready for a re-emergence into the world, a new fresh look on life. I hope people will stop by. I will have a garden tour soon.
Until next week, keep growing. Always plant more flowers.
